May will be off to a rather rude start for many in the central and eastern areas of the United States and a wave of unseasonably cold air will cut loose out of Canada and into the U.S. Mother’s Day weekend may end up being quite chilly for a large part of the nation.

After a colder than normal April, the first half of May could be quite cool for the Midwest, Great Lakes, Corn Belt and a large part of the east. Temperatures could approach record levels late this week and into the weekend.

The graphic below shows temperatures relative to normal by this coming Saturday. The blue, purple and green areas highlight much below average temperatures by this late this week and through the weekend. Late season snow will be possible over the Great Lakes and parts of New England by this weekend.

The cold will also likely reach the east slopes of the Rockies and all the way to the Gulf Coast. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mother’s Day weekend will be very warm over California, the Pacific Northwest and the Desert Southwest.